Tag Archives: Texas Legislature
Texas Legislature Set to (Slightly) Expand Medical Marijuana Access
Only Texans with intractable epilepsy can currently use medical cannabis. As new legislation heading toward the governor’s desk adds a few more conditions to the list, advocates wish lawmakers had gone further and Republicans fret about a "slippery slope."
It wasn’t the wide-ranging medical cannabis bill that Democrats and marijuana advocates wanted. But patients with terminal cancer, autism, neurodegenerative d...Read More
Death Penalty Reform Bill Gets Watered Down to ‘Nothing’ Before Passing Senate
After passing the House, HB 1139, meant to reform how Texas decides whether a defendant is too intellectually disabled to execute, was significantly softened in Senate committee.
A House bill meant to reform Texas’ death penalty procedures for intellectually disabled defendants was amended in the Senate to the point that criminal justi...Read More
Texas Has the Highest Uninsured Rate in the Country. Lawmakers Haven’t Addressed it This Session.
Health care advocates were optimistic that the Legislature would do something this year to address high, and rising, uninsured rates; high rates of maternal mortality; and the rural hospital closure crisis.
Texas has the highest overall uninsured rate in the country, the highest rate of uninsured kids and the highest rate of uninsured women of childbearing age. Yet...Read More
In the Texas Legislature’s Final Days, Republicans Find New Ways to Attack Voting Rights
After the death of a high-profile voter suppression bill, Senate Republicans passed two other restrictive measures this week.
A sweeping Senate bill that would have increased penalties for election-related crimes and made it harder for volunteers to help elderly and disabled voters eff...Read More
Ready, Set, File: Transparency Bills Passed by Legislature Could Open the Door to Once-Public Records
If enacted, the measures would sew up the so-called Boeing and dead suspect loopholes, which the government has used thousands of times to keep taxpayer-funded deals and in-custody deaths private.
After a hard fight spanning four years and two legislatures, it looks like Texans’ right to know what their government is up to has been restored in important...Read More
Despite GOP Support in House, Bill to Provide Contraception to Low-Income Teens Stalls in Senate
House Bill 800 would save the state millions, reduce confusion among providers and lower Texas’ high teen birth rate, supporters say.
Texas has one of the highest teen birth rates in the country, with almost 27,000 babies born to teen mothers in 2017, and the highest rate of repeat pregnancies...Read More
The GOP Failed to Ban Paid Sick Leave and the Business Lobby is Livid
Texas businesses are growing increasingly disgruntled that Dan Patrick appears unable to stop poisoning their political agenda with right-wing social warfare.
One of the the biggest priorities for Texas Republicans this session appears to be on the verge of legislative death. A series of bills that would broadly prohi...Read More
The $9 Billion School Finance Problem in Speaker Bonnen’s Backyard
While legislators focused on school finance and property taxes, a silent culprit continued to metastasize. If Chapter 313, a corporate welfare program, is left unaddressed, it could undermine any progress made this session, critics warn.
There’s a $9 billion (and growing) problem looming in the backyard of House Speaker Dennis Bonnen. That problem is formally known as Chapter 313. As Texas’ ...Read More
Texans ‘Will Die’: House Republicans Pass Anti-Planned Parenthood Bill After Emotional Debate
Senate Bill 22 is the latest in the Legislature’s years-long vendetta against Planned Parenthood. Despite the GOP sponsor refusing to debate the bill, it could soon land on the governor’s desk.
With her voice cracking, state Representative Ana-Maria Ramos described her experience of being a struggling teen mom on the Texas House floor on Friday. A moth...Read More